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Motorcycle crash study

Got the range OIC duty on a Friday night again. Listening to Handel and reading the pdf download on a motorcycle crash study conducted by GB in 2004. Why? Well, other than the fact that I'm a total geek and consumed with motorcycle safety issues... Wait, where was I? Oh yes, the motorcycle crash study, so googleing motorcycle causation factors, could not find a single comprehensive study by the U.S. online, but came across this little gem http://speedcamerareport.co.uk/dft_m..._accidents.pdf
So far, no big surprises, mostly confirmation, which has gotta be a good thing, I must be doing something right. Just got started though. If you down load the pdf go to the back page and look at their countermeasures page, so you can get something to make your ride safer right away, and then you can go back to wading through the stats. Currently on page 8. If you do decide to read, keep in mind they drive on the left side of the road, so a recommendation like look twice at an intersection to your right because that is where you will encounter danger first... Well you can see the transposition. From what I gather the American study recently commissioned by NITSA is stalled, something about Oklahoma State University not getting enough funding... The Brit study is 64 pages long, I'll keep you posted if I come across any earth shattering news.

The studies all agree: motorcycles crash into cars because car drivers fail to notice (perceive) motorcycles in traffic, or car drivers pop out from behind visual obstructions, making the decision to go when they can't possibly see enough to make that decision, motorcyclists don't do enough to make themselves visible and are not trained in proper braking, and many can't swerve because they don't know anything about counter-steering.

rangerreece, thanks for that study. I'll add it to my collection. A snippit:

"In ROWV accidents in particular, there is a marked problem with other road users seeing motorcyclists. It has been noted by researchers that, in a certain proportion of observation-failure cases of this type, the motorcycle that the driver had failed to see was so close to the junction that they had been negotiating that there appeared to be no explanation as to why they had not seen it, even when looking in that direction. This is commonly referred to as ?looked but did not see? (LBDNS) in the police cofactors used in this study, and in a review of work by Brown (2002), for example. If all such accidents were to be eliminated, our results suggest a theoretical fall of slightly over 25% in the total motorcycle accident rate."

The studies are all in pretty good agreement.

Part of the trouble in single-vehicle accidents I believe is a lack of skill in counter-steering, or poor judgment in selection of speed.

The study references both the hurt report and the New Zealand report. I'm about half way through. Bar graphs are hurting my head. Something's are thought provoking. Attitudes, perceptions, and demographics, of the rider is refreshingly included, the results not too surprising. One comment or theory about an explanation to a contributing factor to the higher risk of casualty was that the very nature of the activity was high risk and attracted risk takers. Considering my extensive background with high risk occupations, this theory gave me pause.

It gets into riders' attitudes and how that affects safety. Some ride motorcycles because they are dangerous, while others ride in spite of the danger, and tend to resent the danger part. I'm in the second, safer camp.

I am in your corner Harry. Thinking on the subject of risk takers verses occupational risk, it becomes clear why I don't know a single army helicopter pilot that rides a motorcycle that has been killed on a motorcycle. I think those who have emersed themselves in occupational risk for an extended career, think about risk differently. Unlike the 20 year old that has all of 6 months on his new high powere sport bike, we who have been formally trained in occupational safety understand the full depth and breadth of risk and apply that mindset to other activities, like in our case, motorcycle riding.

Wind?

What about your friend and mine, the wind as causation? I leafed through your link and didn't see it mentioned specifically anywhere. Seems to me a logical area of study but I don't find it.

[Q UOTE=rangerreece;974699]Got the range OIC duty on a Friday night again. Listening to Handel and reading the pdf download on a motorcycle crash study conducted by GB in 2004. Why? Well, other than the fact that I'm a total geek and consumed with motorcycle safety issues... Wait, where was I? Oh yes, the motorcycle crash study, so googleing motorcycle causation factors, could not find a single comprehensive study by the U.S. online, but came across this little gem http://speedcamerareport.co.uk/dft_m..._accidents.pdf
So far, no big surprises, mostly confirmation, which has gotta be a good thing, I must be doing something right. Just got started though. If you down load the pdf go to the back page and look at their countermeasures page, so you can get something to make your ride safer right away, and then you can go back to wading through the stats. Currently on page 8. If you do decide to read, keep in mind they drive on the left side of the road, so a recommendation like look twice at an intersection to your right because that is where you will encounter danger first... Well you can see the transposition. From what I gather the American study recently commissioned by NITSA is stalled, something about Oklahoma State University not getting enough funding... The Brit study is 64 pages long, I'll keep you posted if I come across any earth shattering news.[/QUOTE]

Reece...I made up the Heed NEAD years ago....came up with another recently...... PAP: Patience, Anticipation,Paranoia......thoughts????

I like that! Very catchy, brief and to the point. I can say that in the 20+ years of responding to motorcycle collisions of various causation, those three words would have a clear positive impact on the avoidance and/ or severity of the outcome.

Reece...I made up the Heed NEAD years ago....came up with another recently...... PAP: Patience, Anticipation,Paranoia......thoughts????

I like it... especially the patience part. It's interesting because for some reason it reminds me of the evolution of tactical doctrine over a short time during my deployment to Iraq. SA situational awareness morphed ito situational understanding changing at least once more before I left to situational curiosity, which was not entirely a change but more like an adendum.

I too donít know a helicopter pilot who has died in a 2 wheel crash.

But I knew a USMC Helicopter pilot with a broken clavicle who was over a month off his work because he rear ended me. We were both on bicycles, a group ride, I was stopped at a traffic signal, fully stationary. He came in hot behind and plowed into me hard. Safe to say he lost situational awareness. Hoping he doesn’t do that when aloft. At least he didn’t get more hurt. We never saw him out again though. While telling the story many times since I reflect on how exacting his work must be and how amazed I still am he missed an obvious imperative to stop.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

Ranger Reece’s post:

I am in your corner Harry. Thinking on the subject of risk takers verses occupational risk, it becomes clear why I don't know a single army helicopter pilot that rides a motorcycle that has been killed on a motorcycle. I think those who have emersed themselves in occupational risk for an extended career, think about risk differently. Unlike the 20 year old that has all of 6 months on his new high powere sport bike, we who have been formally trained in occupational safety understand the full depth and breadth of risk and apply that mindset to other activities, like in our case, motorcycle riding.[/QUOTE]